In another world: The tale of Uchiha Madara
by urekmaz1no
Summary: The concept of the multiverse is an infinite set of parallel universes residing alongside each other. Maybe in one universe Madara eventually became Hokage. Maybe in one universe Kishi didn't royally screw up the second half of the Naruto series. This is my fan fiction about the former, and hey, maybe I won't screw the second half of it either.
1. Brothers

The sun was about half set over the trees lining the horizon, casting the village in a warm orange glow. Sitting upon the sculpture of his own face, recently carved into the face of the mountain, he pondered on how far they had come and how much had been sacrificed. Peace was around the corner and then the problems with "that" clan would become non-existent, his greatest rival's death would not be in vain.

"Brother?"

"Down here"

He tilted his head backward to look up at his younger sibling standing atop the mountain.

Izuna grinned, "I thought I might find you here".

"Look at our beautiful village brother," Madara replied "It's perfect".

Izuna leapt down and took a seat on the piece of stone depicting Madara's ear.

"It would be more beautiful with my beautiful face overlooking it," smirked Izuna.

Madara turned and glared at him. Izuna felt a swooping sensation in the pit of his gut and looking down realised his hands had become wrinkled and weathered. A weight suddenly pressed down on his lap where a mirror had just appeared, he looked down at it to see a gruesome, deformed old man smiling back at him.

"Kaihō!"

Izuna rolled his eyes at Madara, who was now looking out to the horizon again.

"Tsukiyomi? Really, brother? Uncalled for."

"I can't believe these words are coming from my mouth, but I miss him…" sighed Madara detachedly as he gazed into the distance.

The abrupt change of tone startled Izuna, and although he already knew the person his brother was referring to he asked gently "Who?"

"Hashirama" Muttered Madara.

Izuna knew that today marked one year since the death of Madara's greatest rival.

"He was a great man," whispered Izuna and the two lapsed into reminiscence. Izuna had always regretted the manner in which Senju Hashirama had met his end. However, a cold fear gripped him, that perhaps his brother regretted Hashirama's death for entirely different reasons. "Dara, it is a tragedy, but it was you who decided his death was necessary. Such a man deserved a better death."

"I care not of the circumstances." Spat Madara "I suffer only that there's no longer a vessel capable of testing my own capacity. I miss the bloodthirst and the thrill found only on the brink of death. I am now truly alone."

"I'm sorry you feel that way brother," muttered Izuna.

"Why have you come here?"

"We need to re-assess the situation with the remaining Senju. They grow tired of being treated like dogs and they're not idiots. They know exactly the meaning of the 'special police force'. Many fear a coup-de-tat."

Madara snorted with contempt, "Then they can voice their displeasure with me personally. That is the way of the leaf. You are our ally, or you are our enemy. And we will shed blood until only allies remain. The village of the leaf will attain true peace, through might, our might. You know this, foolish brother."

"But the Senju _are_ our ally! And a powerful one at that! We have no reason to detain them with such condescension; they are the clan of Hashirama after all. Even my son, your nephew, a mere child, can see the error of our ways. Let the Senju stand with us, not beneath us and we can quell any force that rivals us! We-"

"SILENCE! None of those swine hold a candle to Hashirama's strength! They should be ashamed to use the name Senju. My decision is final brother. The Senju will maintain their prestigious position as Konoha's Special Police Force and if they cannot see this as their piece of the larger picture, then they are no allies of ours."

"But brother –"

"Enough. I'm leaving. Tomorrow is graduation day for the academy students, your son will be there, you should get some sleep."

And with a flurry of hand seals Madara disappeared, leaving Izuna in deep deliberation as the last remnants of the glowing sunset vanished behind the horizon.

 **Author notes:**

Hope you enjoyed the quick intro to this series, the following chapters will be considerably longer. _The tale of Uchiha Madara_ will be comprised of 5-10 chapters, then the tale of another existing Naruto character will be released, still following the same story line. This will almost certainly be my first and last author note, so I just wanted to say that in _The tale of Uchiha Madara_ I'll be rehashing a few ideas for twists and turns from a few well known series, with my own take them. Please don't be discouraged, as I simply want to have fun and pay homage to some of the wonderful works that inspire me. In subsequent tales the story line takes a very original turn. And hey, now that you know the twists are coming, maybe you'll have more fun trying to pick them.

Thanks for reading!


	2. Tension

They should have spent the ceremony beaming smiles down upon their newly graduated children or cheerily discussing the state of the rising leaf village. Instead the Senju lined the fence of the training academy scowling across at the Uchiha. For now, the academy students and genins still bore that miraculous children's innocence and noticed nothing, but if things stayed the same way, if the Senju's hatred continued, or worse, grew…

"Look Father!"

A young shinobi with dark black hair framing his head and the Uchiha crest emblazoned on his back grinned up at Izuna, with his brand new shinobi headband glimmering in the sunlight.

"Kagami, I'm so proud of you!" Izuna smiled back and patted his son on the head. Kagami swiftly swivelled on the spot, removing his head from beneath Izuna's palm. In one clean motion Kagami swung his right hand straight upward, index finger fully extended, and jabbed Izuna in the forearm.

"Careful father! I'm a shinobi now! You'll have to be more cautious when toying with me!" said Kagami with a playful determination on his face. Izuna quickly withdrew his hand, rubbing his forearm vigorously on the spot where Kagami had just made contact.

"Kagami. What was that just now?" Asked Izuna curiously.

"It's called Gentle Fist. Neji taught it to me. He can see the tenketsu and so he's showing me where some of them are. But I'm not very good yet, this is the only one's exact location I can remember so far"

Izuna knew the gentle fist all too well. Countless times it had saved his life as the Hyuuga fought alongside him on the battlefield. Nothing pleased him more than seeing his son and a Hyuuga child exchanging techniques and helping each other. From across the courtyard a man with white hair and three red face markings waved cheerily and began walking towards Izuna and Kagami, his squinted eyes and large smile giving off an aura of utmost joy.

"Well it looks like a very powerful technique, perhaps I will have to be careful! Run along to your classmates Kagami. Hokage-sama will be giving his speech soon" said Izuna to his son. Kagami darted back to the other students, giving the white haired man a high five on the way through.

"You must be incredibly proud Izuna," he smiled.

"I truly am," grinned Izuna as he embraced the man "It's good to see you Tobirama."

"And you," replied Tobirama "Your son is becoming strong Izuna, he will be a great Shinobi. To think that, at the age of 9, he can use two chakra natures. Very fearsome indeed."

"You're too generous Tobirama," laughed Izuna "All Uchiha children learn the fire style at a young age and he has just last week formed Wind chakra for the first time."

"Ahh my friend, before you know it your family will have a new kekkei genkai on their hands. The boy is a genius, everyone can see so."

Izuna smiled to himself as he gazed out at his son and their friends. It was all true, what Tobirama was saying, Izuna knew that one day his son would surpass himself. And while this knowledge bore him great pride, he wished so much for his son to grow up in an environment with less turmoil. Wished that his son would never have to use that great strength…

"However, how long has it been since neither the Uchiha nor Senju have provided a member of the top three rookies?!" exclaimed Tobirama.

"Very true indeed," replied Izuna "Which do you think is the strongest of the three?"

"Difficult to say. Between Hyuuga Neji and Sarutobi Hiruzen I believe. Neji can use almost all of the Hyuuga's techniques on at least a basic level and I found out just yesterday that he can see the tenketsu. It's been a long time since a Byakugan user could detect the tenketsu. On the other hand, like your son, Hiruzen has already mastered two chakra natures. Furthermore, he can use the two at the same time, creating the 'Storm Element' kekkei genkai. They're both very fearsome indeed."

"And what of the third placed rookie," asked Izuna "Shimura Danzo?"

"I know nothing of him." Remarked Tobirama "He passed every written test with perfect marks, but I have never seen him in battle and never heard of the Shimura clan. I'll need to speak later with his instructor to find out why he's there at all."

"Gather round!" came a cry from the front of the graduation grounds. It was Madara's assistant, Uchiha Mamoru "It's time for Hokage-Sama's speech! New genins at the front. Hurry now."

"Better go" sighed Tobirama "I don't want your brother angry at me again"

"Can we at least walk there normally this time?" asked Izuna.

"I'm sorry? I didn't hear you?" smirked Tobirama. He grabbed Izuna's arm with his left hand, and with a quick two or three one handed seals on his right, the pair had reappeared at the front of the grounds.

"Such a show off" grumbled Izuna as he vastly stretched his arms and legs. His body wasn't used to the teleportation like Tobirama's was. Madara nodded at Izuna as he walked out from behind the large oak table housing himself, the academy instructors and Mamoru. Izuna had always had his doubts about Mamoru, the man's eagerness to support Madara's words before they had even left the Hokage's mouth did not seem a trait befitting an advisor and confidante. Mamoru's face had gentle features, but he wore them sternly and had always exuded an air of mystery. He had been wheelchair ridden since birth, apparently a genetic deficiency also shared by his father and grandfather. Besides the fact that he was an Uchiha and that he was close with Madara, Izuna really knew nothing about him. It left a disturbing feeling in his stomach.

"The newest shinobi of the leaf village. It is an honour to speak to all of you today. It is my task to not only congratulate you, but to tell you what it means to be a ninja in this village. Today I will tell you a story. A story that many of you already know very well. I call it, 'The History of the Leaf'!"

While the genins sat in suspense, attentively hanging on every word of the powerful hokage's wonderful story, so did the Jounins. The Senju, half in expectation of Madara speaking ill of their clan, and the Uchiha half in expectation of the Senju becoming violent. Next to Izuna, Tobirama had noticed as well. His teeth clenched and fists balled, it was as if he knew something would happen at any moment.

"Relax" Izuna whispered to Tobirama "Nothing will happen in front of the children"

"You're right" replied Tobirama as he let out a small sigh of relief. Izuna thought, if something as innocent as the academy student graduation could be foreshadowed by the hate between the two clans, the future sure was troubling.

"It all begins with a single man." Continued Madara "The creator of the Hidden Leaf Village, the first and greatest shinobi to ever live! His name was Rikudo Sennin. How many of you might have heard of him?" All of the academy students, sat cross legged on the grass, waved their hands vigorously in the air.

"Haha, I thought so." Laughed Madara "Quickly, let's pause our story for a moment and have a little quiz". Naturally, the students groaned with discontent.

"I will ask one question and one question only. The first person to answer correctly, wins this." And as he moved to withdraw the unique Leaf engraved kunai from his pocket, Izuna couldn't help but observe that given Madara's recent mood and actions, he was doing a mighty fine job of acting for the Genins. The students ooh'ed and ah'ed as Madara spun the colourful kunai around his index finger and let it dangle in front of their eyes.

"The question…" Spoke Madara softly, building suspense "What did Rikudo Sennin do to become so famous?"

A few students looked puzzled, a few excited, a few indifferent and Neji and Kagami were just prodding each other's forearms in different places. A young boy with squinted eyes and parted purple hair shot his hand into the air.

"Yes, Gin"

"He was the first shinobi!" Yelled the child excitedly.

Madara shook his head. "I need more specifics Gin! The seed did not instantly become the tree! Who else?" A number of raised arms immediately detracted, a few stayed upright.

"Yes, Krillin"

"I um … I think he created chakra or … something like that" murmured a bald, small framed child.

"Ah Krillin, as unconfident as always. But you shouldn't be, your answer is very close!" The rest of the upraised arms in the audience proceeded back down to the genins sides, until none were left. "No more takers? Then I guess I'll be using this kunai in the Leafs next battle. It's a shame, I really am running out of room for kunais…" Slowly, from somewhere at the back of the audience a small hand was raised above the heads of the other students.

"Whose hand is that? Stand up child," Asked Madara curiously. The boy had medium length brown hair, which partly covered his small brown eyes. Medium height and medium build, wearing a plain ninja outfit with backpack and kunai satchel. Overall the boy just looked … average, ordinary.

"Shimura Danzo." Announced Madara "You have an answer?" Tobirama tilted his head to gain Izuna's attention. Izuna nodded sternly and focused his gaze on the child.

"Rikudo Sennin was the first person to discover that the human body contains chakra and that it comprises our life force. It is said that he was a hermit who spent many years alone in different woods and areas of nature. It is also said that due to this heightened relationship with nature, the sage came to know himself and more broadly, the human condition, better than any other man that had ever lived. He came to find that through practice and meditation he could control this 'chakra' and use it to gain unheard of strength. Hence, ninjutsu was born. In a two part answer to your question, Rikudo Sennin became renowned throughout history for discovering chakra and for inventing ninjutsu," recited Danzo in a very matter-of-fact tone. Madara spun the kunai around his finger a few more times and sent it flying at Danzo, who also caught it on his middle finger, spun it and placed it gently in his kunai satchel. The boy then proceeded to bow deeply to the Hokage and return to his spot on the grass.

Tobirama leaned over to Izuna ,"Who on earth is teaching the boy these things?"

Izuna shrugged, "I'll ask Madara about the clan later."

"Very good Danzo," proclaimed Madara "Very good indeed. We all think we understand how our bodies work, but compared to the great sage, we are ignorant fools! What Danzo said is true, Rikudo Sennin created ninjutsu, but he never settled for this great achievement. He continued to travel the lands, learning more and more. In one particular part of his journey he travelled through kilometres of wild woodlands before stumbling across a small village, seemingly hidden inside the forest. The villagers were friendly people and the climate was nice, so the sage decided to stay for a while."

The students still sat tentatively, leaning forward to make sure they didn't miss a word of the story. Meanwhile the jounin, who had heard the story a hundred times over, were beginning to become restless. The Senju lining the back wall of the yard were muttering under their breath, laughing slyly at silent jokes. The Uchiha didn't fail to notice.

"He stayed in that village for many years and after some time, he found a wife who gave birth to triplets. Three boys. The life of the sage was perfect! A lovely home, beautiful wife and beautiful children. That was, until the attack of the Juubi. The sage told the story that before the attack even began, he was awoken from his sleep. That the evil aura being emitted from the beast was so strong he could 'sense' it minutes before it arrived at the village. A huge white beast, like no natural animal you or I could think of, ten broad white tails thrashing around that could slice through mountains, shooting beams of chakra from its mouth that you could swear would reach the moon! The battle between the sage and the Juubi was spectacular and although it almost killed him, the sage's final, most powerful attack destroyed the beast, disintegrating it and leaving no trace."

The situation was getting dangerously close to violence. The Senju were not even trying to hide their sniggers anymore and the Uchiha stared on avidly, licking their lips at the opportunity of a fight. Izuna and Tobirama nodded at each other and began casually walking to where each of their clans were standing. Despite Madara losing popularity among the Uchiha lately, Izuna was still viewed respectfully as a leader of the clan. Hopefully he could talk some sense into them. Tobirama on the other hand, would have a tougher time. His clan mates had not been taking kindly to the fact that their leader was friendly with a senior Uchiha.

"Despite the sage's great victory the village was almost completely destroyed, it would take years to rebuild. And despite their best research efforts, neither the sage nor the villagers could figure out where the Juubi had come from, or exactly what species it was. The sage decided that if another like it appeared, he may not be able to defeat it alone. Even worse, what if one appeared after he passed away? The sage thought long and hard about this problem and eventually decided that, although it could be used for evil purposes, he had to pass on his ninjutsu. He decided that after rebuilding the village it would be named 'The Village Hidden in the Leaves' and it would be a training ground for others willing to learn the ninjutsu. The first to pass through his ninjutsu school were his three sons, who would then pass it on to their sons and eventually, after creating their own clans and cultures, would come to be known as the Uchiha, the Senju and the Hyuuga. The Uchiha and the Senju would come to comprise the majority of the leafs battle force, while the Hyuuga would, for the most part, come to take the role of the wise advisor"

Izuna appeared to be succeeding at calming the disgruntled Uchiha, but something else bothered him. This should be the end of the story. In its traditional telling there is no more, but Madara showed no signs of slowing down. By now, even the children who had heard the story before didn't notice, too enthralled in Madara's telling of the tale. Meanwhile, it looked as though Tobirama was also making some progress with the Senju, maybe everything would be okay…

"But the story does not end here," continued Madara "As graduates from the school of ninjutsu began themselves to travel, other villages were formed. Each teaching their own brand of ninjutsu and following their own moral code. As time passed, people started to become aware that with the use of this ninjutsu everyday tasks could become much more efficient. Messages could be delivered to other villages in half the time, old buildings could be knocked down in seconds. Hence the ninja system began, where the masters of ninjutsu could receive monetary rewards for completing such tasks upon request. But somewhere in the sands of time the ninja lost their way. When evil people offered money for murders, the ninja accepted. Suddenly, meeting a ninja from a different village during a journey was no longer a pleasant surprise but rather, it became a tightrope situation. What if he's being paid to kill me? Should I kill him first? Resultantly, trust soon became a thing of the past and war broke out everywhere. There was no longer 'the power to protect others from the Juubi' nor a universal teaching of ninjutsu. Before the ninja knew it, the purpose of their training was to learn most effectively how to kill other shinobi."

Izuna's stomach dropped. Now he saw where his brother was going with the story. What on Earth was Madara thinking. Izuna couldn't allow him to go on, not when speaking to the children like this. He quickly told the Uchiha to stay put and strode over to the Hokage's table. Just as he was about to be within arm's length of his brother, a black wheel rolled out in front of his foot, blocking his path. It belonged to Mamoru's wheelchair.

"Mamoru, surely you realise what he is about to try and tell these children," exclaimed Izuna.

"Keep your voice down," whispered Mamoru, "strict orders. Hokage-sama is not to be interrupted."

"How can you blindly follow every word he says!" Cried Izuna, "Have you no-"

"Hush!" Mamoru sternly cut him off and nodded at the Hokage, implying Izuna should listen.

"The lesson to be learned today children," Madara went on "is that in the life of a shinobi, not everything is as it seems. The ninja system that the great sage worked so hard to create, over time was destroyed by the evil inherent in all men. What was meant to be a bid toward a peaceful ending quickly became a means for a very violent world. And in that world there is no room for weakness. The first face carved into the mountain that overlooks the leaf village belongs to Rikudo Sennin. And each face after that belongs to a man who was, at one point in time, the strongest man in the village."

The tempers of the Senju had reached boiling point. Tobirama was beginning to struggle to contain them all.

"Your job as a shinobi is to train hard and beat whichever face is newest on that mountain. And if he cannot beat you, he deserves not to be there. Only the strongest can be entrusted to protect those we love. This is the way the village works. The most recent change of hokage was a rather …' Madara paused and snickered as he glanced over at Mamoru "exceptional circumstance. Poor Hashirama and his disease –"

That was it. The Senju snapped. The Uchiha acted accordingly. Tobirama did his best to hold all the Senju back, but one got through. He began storming to the Uchiha's side of the yard, and the whole gang of Uchiha's came to greet him. Izuna started a brisk walk toward the two parties and raised his hands together ready to perform the necessary seals. As soon as he began trying to channel the necessary chakra he felt a sharp pain in his left forearm, stopping his efforts.

"God dammit Kagami" cursed Izuna through gritted teeth.

"What a great Hokage!" Screamed the Senju "Too weak to fight the previous so he murders him in his sleep!"

"Baka!" Cried one of the Uchiha "You know nothing!"

Tobirama had no hope of holding the rest back now. He swiftly ran over to the group of crying and concerned children, prompting them to all make a circle and hold hands. Once all linked Tobirama touched one of the children on the shoulder and formed a few hand seals. Within a second the children had all disappeared and Tobirama returned , staggering, to the point he was standing. Izuna rushed over to aid him

"Tobirama!"

"I'm fine," muttered Tobirama "Even though they're small, 20 people is about my limit"

The cries of the shinobi behind them got louder and the friends turned to see the two lead shinobi rushing at each other, forming hand seals. The result of this could be catastrophic.

 **BOOM**

Madara landed with a deafening thud between the Senju and Uchiha shinobi, full body of ninja armour clanking around from the impact. Both of the shinobi came skidding to a halt as Madara raised both arms, fully outstretched, with palms inches from their faces. Slowly something appeared to be coming out of his hands, getting longer and twisting as they grew, two razor sharp stakes of twisted wood pointed directly into the eyes of the two shinobi.

"Th… That's …" Stuttered the Senju

"Do you have something to say?" Madara turned his head and asked calmly as a trickle of blood ran down the face of the Senju where the wood had begun to touch his forehead.

"N-No-Nothing", the Senju backed away looking absolutely horrified.

"You are an animal", spat one of the other Senju, and they quickly dispersed from the academy.

Madara turned and slapped the Uchiha man across the face.

"Next time you stoop to the level of a Senju, you will die," he whispered menacingly "Now go."

Tobirama shook his head and with a nod to Izuna, used his remaining strength to teleport out of the grounds. Madara, looking satisfied, patted Izuna on the back and began walking into the academy, with Mamoru of course wheeling along right at his tail.

As Izuna stood by himself in the centre of the yard it suddenly occurred to him, he had never felt more lost.


	3. Divergence

"Welcome to Hokage-sama, Feudal Lords, board members and scribes. I now declare this week's meeting open. The minutes of the last biweekly meeting include the purchasing of special tools for the new Konoha police force, reconnaissance tactics against Amegakure and Kirigakure and preparations for the academy students' graduation."

Two days after the altercation at the graduation ceremony and Izuna was sat around a table with all the people that made all the decisions for the leaf's future. Most weeks you would find Izuna slumped deep in his chair, picking his fingernails with a kunai or something or other. The meeting's agenda always sat so far in front of him on the table there's no way the letters were discernible from where he was sitting in the dimly lit room. The weathered brown stone walls and low-sitting stone roof served as a constant reminder that the room was housed deep underground. The rooms list of furniture was comprised of three items; the table, chairs and the gas lit lanterns lining the walls. Madara was always at the head of the table, also looking disinterested, with his red and white Hokage's hat perched on the table directly in front of him. Mamoru would sit at Madara's side, perpendicular to the grand Hokage hat, reading out apologies, minutes of previous meetings and current business. It was all very professional, very diplomatic. But it meant absolutely nothing.

"Excuse me guys. But why do we even bother with this?" Sighed Izuna.

"How dare you, you insolent little brat," said a plump old Feudal Lord from across the broad oak table, "just who do you think you are."

Izuna rolled his eyes and turned to Mamoru, "Will you give it a rest already?"

"Okay okay," chuckled Mamoru "but you're no fun you know"

Instantly, everyone at the table apart from Mamoru, Madara and Izuna himself, dropped their heads forward and became motionless, as if in a deep slumber. Izuna noticed that even though this was Mamoru's form of entertainment, that this was about as much as he ever enjoyed himself, he still looked tired and weary, he always did.

"Kotoamatsukami. The greatest genjutsu. You gain full, indiscernible, memory-less, control over another human being, or in some cases, multiple human beings."

"Oh I have no idea what you're talking about" said Mamoru, feigning a sarcastic innocence.

"What I don't understand though," continued Izuna "Is why you would waste the technique on this pointless meeting. You can only use the technique once a week, tops, and my brother's Tsukiyomi could easily delay them all for an hour and simulate a meeting in their mind"

"Very good points young Izuna" remarked Mamoru "Firstly, I like using the technique, it's good exercise for my eyes. And secondly, well, the whole once a week thing isn't really an issue anymore. Remember that Senju's little outburst the other day?"

Izuna's jaw dropped in shock.

"That was you?"

"It certainly was" said Mamoru calmly, his cold eyes fixed sternly on Izuna, anticipating a reaction. "I really am blessed. Such a fun technique"

"I don't understand… How did you…" stuttered Izuna.

"Your generous brother here bestowed upon me a gift. Well, I guess you could call it a joint gift, from him and Hashirama. Hahaha!" Mamoru laughed hysterically between unhealthy wheezing and coughing. By the end of his laughter he was doubled over in his seat, holding his chest, as if the whole act was some great effort. It suddenly occurred to Izuna that although Mamoru acted the strong, silent type, he had been clinically insane all along.

"Brother? I don't understand...' mumbled Izuna 'Hashirama's DNA was for you. To make sure that _you_ could protect the village, to make sure that _you_ could change this cycle of violence. And now you're freely handing it out to maniacal warmongers like this man? Killing Hashirama has done something to you. You're not the same brother I once knew. Why are you being like this!' Izuna's voice was raised now, with a handful of tears streaming down his face.

Madara paused and looked at Izuna contemplatively, as if he was taking a long time to choose his next words.

"Izuna…" he said calmly "You sound like a little bitch."

Izuna sat in disbelief for a few seconds. Before finally his head rolled to one side, his eyes closed as he muttered,

"You have lost your way"

He began to slide his chair backward and stand up but no sooner were his legs straightened than a hand grabbed him firmly by the wrist.

"You think you can just leave a meeting before it begins?" It was one of the feudal lords, obviously being controlled by Mamoru. Izuna karate chopped the hand away and swung his body around in silence. As he turned he pulled a kunai from his satchel and swung it around his finger once before abruptly pointing its gleaming tip directly at Mamoru.

"You think you can stop me?" Whispered Izuna. Mamoru licked his lips

"Well then let's have some fun, boy. You really do need some toughening up." All of the feudal lords and advisors sitting around the table slowly stood up, like zombies with their heads still bowed and began to converge on Izuna.

"Enough." Said Madara, out of nowhere, "Let him go". The tension remained thick in the air for a few seconds before Mamoru finally withdrew and the board members sank back into their seats.

"Maybe next time your brother won't be here to protect you, boy." Said Mamoru. He stared intently at Izuna, the bags under his eyes clearly visible in the candle light. Izuna thought that maybe dreams of bloodshed kept him awake all night.

He turned for the door and walked out in silence. The tunnel leading outside had never been so tight and Izuna had never found it this hard to breathe. What do you do when the one you love the most changes? Madara had been Izuna's best friend his whole life and was the best person he knew, a moral compass. It wasn't only a case of how Izuna should act now, he had to question everything he had thought to be real. He knew that Madara had changed since _that_ night, but how long had he been like this? Or worse… had he always been like this? As he surfaced from the entrance tunnel fresh air hit his lungs for the first time in what felt like a thousand years. He breathed it in deep and steadied himself, summarizing his thoughts. He decided that Madara must be like fresh air. That there were multitudes of the pure oxygen inside of him, but channelled through a thin tunnel and into a dank, dark room even the freshest of air will be tainted with dioxide. Izuna decided that he must show Madara his oxygen again, he didn't want to even consider the alternative.

CRACK!

Izuna jerked his body around after he felt a small, hard object collide suddenly with the back of his head. His hand was already spinning swiftly toward his kunai satchel when he saw the stone lying by his feet.

"Psst. This way."

It was Tobirama. Hiding in the bushes by the side of the footpath.

"Were you listening the whole time?" Asked Izuna as he began walking over to Tobirama. Although the night had been tumultuous and his mind was still racing, Izuna felt a huge weight being relieved from his shoulders at the mere sight of Tobirama.

"Yeah. That damn Mamoru. If he thinks I wouldn't hit him because he's a cripple he's got another thing coming. I would have been there in an instant if it weren't for your brother's stupid seal." He was referring to the seal that Madara places, after the beginning of each meeting, at the board rooms only entrance, allowing only those with Uchiha blood to pass through the doorway.

"Not that I can't handle myself … But Dara wouldn't have let anything happen to me regardless"

"These days, I'm not so sure Izuna," said Tobirama in a concerned tone.

"I don't think you know my brother as well as I do," replied Izuna.

"I don't think you know him as well as you think you do…" Said Tobirama sympathetically.

"Come on. Let's go hear the rest of the meeting," sighed Izuna. The pair began walking in the direction of the villages edge. It was a cold evening so they walked briskly, making sure to stay in the shadows of nearby trees or buildings so as not to be seen. Just as they had almost reached their destination Izuna pulled up abruptly, holding Tobirama back with his outstretched arm.

"Stop. Who's that? Over there." He whispered as he pointed toward a large elm tree off to the side of the path.

"It's fine. I passed him on my way to the tunnels entrance. It's that Shimura Danzo child." Explained Tobirama.

"What's he doing all the way out here in the middle of the night?" Asked Izuna. "Where are his parents?"

"I'm not sure that he has any…" muttered Tobirama, "He's practicing ninjutsu. Watch."

Danzo was practicing a routine where he would throw a kunai at a tree branch and attempt to slice every falling leaf individually with a precise Fuuton release. Every time he would throw his kunai at a thicker branch, causing more leaves to fall than the last. The elegance of the slices and huge number of perfectly formed and perfectly accurate miniscule wind blades was astounding.

"He's certainly a scary one," remarked Tobirama. Izuna nodded and the pair took off again.

It was a serene night with a full moon sitting proudly at the top of the sky. Had it not been for the situation at hand, Izuna thought that he would have very much liked to have been out practicing ninjutsu with Kagami. It wasn't that he desperately wanted Kagami to grow up and be an elite shinobi, he just enjoyed helping his son with things that they both enjoyed. Actually, sometimes Izuna wished that they weren't shinobi. Sometimes he wished they weren't born with special eyes or into a special family at all. Sometimes he wished that they were very normal, born with normal eyes into a normal family in a normal house in the village. Then they could sometimes play normal sports together and do his son's homework together and not know the very first thing about chakra together. Sometimes he wished he could get to sleep at night instead of spending hours worrying about whether his son would die before he turned 21.

"We're here" said Tobirama, Izuna snapped back to reality. (Oop there goes gravity!)

The two pulled up sharply at the face of an enormous grey boulder. It didn't look too suspicious on the outskirts of the village scattered with trees and shrubs and stones. Well it wouldn't have looked too suspicious had it not been for the large Senju symbol carved into its face. Regardless, with a flurry of hand seals from Tobirama the stone disappeared.

"Your brother never ceases to amaze me" muttered Izuna in wonder as they entered the dark, earthy tunnel heading back toward the village.

Years ago Hashirama had created a tree using his Mokuton style at the edge of the village, gradually he would come back and sit at its base, exerting chakra to make it larger and larger and consequently, its roots longer and longer. Tobirama was a sensor type and he would often be seen in the village, two fingers pressed to the ground and eyes closed in concentration, before he would teleport back to Hashirama to help him guide the plants roots. After a while, Hashirama had created a network of roots that spanned the entire village, like an intricate large scale ant farm. When Hashirama finally withdrew the jutsu, since it was so far from the village, no one even noticed that the tree was gone. All that was left was an extensive tunnel system that could take you anywhere in the village, known only to a select number of Senju and more recently, Izuna.

They trudged through the dank and hardened path for about ten minutes before finally they reached a marking on the wall, indicating that they were directly below the board room. Tobirama placed two fingers on the roof of the tunnel above them and placed his other hand softly on Izuna's shoulder.

"And so when the guy I was controlling finished with the rest of them it was just him and their squad's leader. He came running at me screaming some gibberish about his men and flailing around wildly. So I made his student trip him over and stand on his chest, drew the guys sword and asked which of his eyes he favoured the most," it was Mamoru, they could hear him clear as day due to Tobirama's jutsu "Of course I was never going to let him keep either of his eyes or either of their lives. But watching assassins tremble in fear at a man in a wheelchair never does cease to amuse me!"

"Mamoru have you any idea how many times you've told me this story?" Sighed Madara

"Sorry, sorry. I know. I just love reliving it so much. Anyway, we should get to the serious business."

"Right" confirmed Madara "Next Friday evening will mark one year since the death of the great Hashirama Senju."

Izuna felt Tobirama twitch

"We will grace the village with a great gift, we will annihilate the Senju."

Izuna and Tobirama's heads slowly turned to look at each other in utter disbelief…

 **NEXT WEEK, THE TRUTH ABOUT 'THAT' NIGHT!**

 **THE DEATH OF HASHIRAMA SENJU!**


End file.
